Conventional methods of processing dental x-ray films typically involve placing a film packet into a patient's mouth, taking an exposure, removing the film packet from the patient's mouth and placing it aside, and repeating the process until all of the exposures have been taken. Then the bundle of packets is typically moved to a developing room where an undeveloped film sheet is removed from each film packet and attached to a rack. The rack is then submerged in various film developing fluids and dried. Subsequently, each film sheet, now developed, is mounted in an x-ray mount package for viewing, such as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,254 to Stevenson on Jun. 8, 1982, or as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,924 to Moderatho on Sep. 5, 1978. As is typical of film mounting devices, these devices require each film sheet to be individually mounted, one at a time, by the dental practitioner. As a typical full-set of x-rays can include eighteen to twenty individual films, such a mounting process can take considerable time. Further, the practitioner developing such films must take care to properly position each film on the film mount since the positioning of the films on the mount is important to a dentist viewing and interpreting the films. Such deliberate and careful positioning of each film takes considerable time and requires specific knowledge of how to interpret the films. As such, the task of developing x-ray films requires some skilled knowledge about dentistry and radiology, and cannot be passed off to a less-expensive office clerk, or similar personnel.
If the developing rack that is typically used to submerge the x-ray films were also used as an x-ray film organizer and carrier, the final positioning of the x-ray films would be dependent upon their positioning on the rack. As a result, little effort would be required to mount the films since the films would already be organized in a known sequence. However, conventional developing racks are not well suited for organizing and carrying film packets and film sheets since the shape of the rack does not correspond well with the x-ray mount devices mentioned earlier. Further, such a rack is ill-suited for carrying or transporting x-ray films since the films are typically held only at one side and are prone to detachment from the rack if the rack or the films inadvertently contact with some other object. Further, conventional developing racks make no provision for protecting the films from damage that may be caused by contact with other objects. As a result, such a developing rack is not suitable for use as a carrier or an organizer of x-ray film sheets.
Clearly, then, there is a need for a device that can serve as an x-ray film packet organizer, a protective film carrier, a developing rack, and a film sheet organizer. Such a needed device would maintain the organization of film packets and film sheets throughout the dental x-ray process, and would require very little knowledge of dentistry and radiology on the part of the person developing and mounting the x-ray films. Further, such a needed device would save considerable time in the developing process, and would significantly reduce the possibility of errant positioning of x-ray films during mounting and possible errors in diagnosis on the part of the dentist interpreting such films. Moreover, such a needed device would be easy to manufacture, dean, and otherwise maintain. There is also a clear need for a film mounting device that cooperates with such a film organizer and carrier. Such a film mounting device would not require individual, one-by-one positioning of each film sheet. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.